Sherdog.com’s 2017 Event of the Year

The last 12 months have provided bloodthirsty fight fans plenty on
which to feast. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship alone put on a fight card nearly
every week in 2017. When coupled with Bellator
MMA,
Invicta Fighting Championships, One
Championship and UFC satellite properties like Dana White’s
Tuesday Night Contender Series, there was a lot of content to
consume. It made the task of crowning one event above all others as
the best of the year uniquely difficult.

UFC 214 on July 29 saw Cristiane
Justino ascend to champion status in the world’s leading mixed
martial arts promotion, along with the return to glory -- and later
another fall from grace -- of light heavyweight Jon Jones.
Unfortunately Tyron
Woodley’s successful welterweight title defense against
Demian
Maia became one of the most universally despised fights of
all-time. KSW 39 on May 27 made history, as 58,000 fans packed PGE
Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw, Poland. However, it lacked relevance
for most of the MMA universe. Bellator 180 on June 24 featured a
star-studded lineup at Madison Square Garden in New York, including
two title-fight upsets and the return of the great Fedor
Emelianenko. Nevertheless, it was built on the spectacle of
aging fighters while more legitimate matchups were pushed to the
background. UFC 218 on Dec. 2 was action-packed and served as a
hardcore fans’ dream for the kind of meritocratic matchmaking that
has slowly been leaving the sport. The only downside was that the
established star power necessary to elevate an event was nowhere to
be found.

As the prelims concluded, the main card sought to match their
excitement level. Looking grossly outsized, former welterweight
champion Johny
Hendricks found himself on the receiving end of a crushing
defeat at the hands and feet of Brazilian prospect Paulo
Henrique Costa. Meanwhile, Stephen
Thompson outpointed the notoriously tough Jorge
Masvidal with slick counter boxing and well-timed kicks. As a
trio of title fights was set to begin, the audience had already
seen plenty of drama. No one, especially oddsmakers, could have
known it was only an appetizer.

Written off by virtually everyone in the weeks ahead of UFC
217, Rose
Namajunas took on women’s strawweight titleholder Joanna
Jedrzejczyk. Much of the pre-fight talk centered on the
115-pound champion’s place in history, but Namajunas had other
plans against the pound-for-pound queen. She used feints to set up
the knockout blow in the first round, authoring one of the year’s
biggest upsets. The juxtaposition of Namajunas’ quiet and humble
demeanor with Jedrzejczyk’s broken hubris was nothing short of
startling; and who could forget Daniel
Cormier screaming “Thug Rose!” over and over again in the
broadcast booth?

In the co-headliner, T.J.
Dillashaw challenged former teammate turned archrival Cody
Garbrandt for the UFC bantamweight championship. A fantastic
style matchup was only enhanced by the tension in the air, as their
feud spilled into the cage. Dillashaw returned to the top of the
135-pound mountain and stopped his onetime friend with punches
midway through the second round.

With that, the stage was set for the return of Georges St.
Pierre. Pitted against middleweight champion Michael
Bisping in the main event, it marked the first time in four
years that he competed inside the Octagon. Bisping was aiming to
defend his title for a second time and cement his legacy by
becoming the only man to defeat both St. Pierre and Anderson
Silva. While seeing the Canadian legend fight for a belt in a
weight class where he had never before competed was not exactly the
proper approach, St. Pierre’s return gave the UFC something of a
pass on the booking front.

The fight did not disappoint. The first round saw St. Pierre
pressure the champion, with Bisping struggling to find his rhythm
and the challenger picking and choosing his punches, all while
throwing a variety of kicks and landing a takedown. At the start of
the second, the extra bulk on the longtime welterweight’s frame
appeared to take a toll, as his pace slowed and the notoriously
well-conditioned Bisping began to press the action.

GSP executed an early takedown in the third round, only to find
“The Count” firing cutting elbows from the bottom. St. Pierre
seemed to have a better grasp on the Brit’s timing once the
fighters moved back to their feet, and he connected with a short
left hand that sent Bisping crashing to the floor with roughly a
minute to go in the the round. Vicious ground-and-pound led to a
sloppy scramble that saw St. Pierre easily take the champion’s back
and cinch the rear-naked choke. Bisping refused to tap and elected
to go out on his proverbial shield, losing consciousness 4:23 into
Round 3. A bloodied St. Pierre rose to his feet as the new UFC
middleweight champion.

Nine of the 11 bouts at UFC 217 resulted in finishes, with head
kicks, punches, elbows and submission providing a veritable
cornucopia of violence and technique. The first chapter in a heated
rivalry was written; premature talk of all-time greatness was
quieted by a committed and composed challenger; and an icon
returned to claim a championship, becoming just the fourth fighter
in history to do so in multiple weight classes. Yes, UFC 217 had
something for everyone.